Coinbase valued itself at about $8 billion when it made an offer in a recent acquisition deal that included its common shares. That internal estimate is much higher than its last preferred valuation.

Coinbase offered its
stock at that approximate price when pitching an equity package to Earn.com investors, according to people familiar with the negotiations; Earn sold to Coinbase for over $100 million earlier this month. Earn’s investors asked for and instead recieved cash, the people said, but Earn’s management took at least some Coinbase stock. [ Recode ]

SoFi's Former CEO Harnesses the Blockchain for Home Loan Startup

Cagney has raised $50 million and lined up two global banks

The blockchain will help expedite loan approvals in minutes

Mike Cagney, who built SoFi into America’s biggest student loan refinancer before quitting amid allegations of sexual harassment at the fintech firm, is preparing for his second act: a startup offering home-equity loans. [ Bloomberg ]

A few months ago, Marceau Michel met up with a fellow entrepreneur, Kathryn Brown of ScoutSavvy, to discuss their triumphs and tribulations of their time in the tech industry. That’s when the two discovered they were running into the same issue: lack of funding.

Unfortunately, Michel, an African-American founder, is not alone. Just one percent of venture-backed companies are led by black founders. In an attempt to address this problem, Michel is looking to engage the public to help in an area where traditional investors seem to lack the willingness. [ Tech Crunch ]

Sequoia Capital’s Growth Fund Tops $6 Billion in Record Haul

Sequoia Capital is making fast progress in its bid to raise what will be the largest U.S.-based venture fund. Investors have committed roughly $6 billion to the venture-capital firm’s new global growth fund, according to people familiar with the situation.

Most of the capital has been raised from new investors and once the firm completes capital commitments from them, it will turn to existing ones, one of the people familiar with the situation said. Sequoia is expected to
accept as much as $2 billion more for the new Sequoia Global Growth Fund III from its existing investors, the person said. [ WSJ ]

IFTTT raises $24 million, led by Salesforce Ventures

This startup wants to create a merchandising and banking cryptoeconomy